Vital Signs: Reading Critical Developments in Global Health 20/07/2026 Mukesh Kapila Last week, one phrase — “self-reliance” — did more work in global health than any medicine, as global agencies continue operationalising donor retreats they can no longer disguise. The strategy’s real-world test is unfolding in eastern Congo, where the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak on record is outrunning a struggling response. The institutions of global health spent […] Continue reading -> As Artificial Intelligence Drives Health Innovations, UN Agencies Launch Joint Strategic Guidelines 14/07/2026 Felix Sassmannshausen As artificial intelligence drives rapid health innovations, global guardrails, equitable data, and local capacity are needed to ensure equitable progress. To address this, a landmark framework launched by three United Nations agencies lays out a strategic roadmap for innovators. Meanwhile, health leaders emphasise that lower-income regions must become co-creators of future innovations. New guidelines for […] Continue reading -> A Regional Approach to HPV Vaccine Design Can Advance Equity and Cervical Cancer Elimination 13/07/2026 Marco Cavaleri HPV vaccines have transformed cervical cancer prevention, but the next generation of vaccines must better reflect regional disease patterns, including the HPV35 genotype prevalent in Africa. The recent WHO Global Status Report on Cancer paints a sobering picture. Among the many challenges, human papillomavirus, or HPV, is one of the world’s most serious infectious causes of […] Continue reading -> Ebola Cases Climb 25% as UN Warns Outbreak May Push One Million Into Poverty 10/07/2026 Stefan Anderson The Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Ebola outbreak is the fastest-growing on record, Africa CDC told its weekly briefing on Wednesday, with confirmed cases up 25% over the past week to 1,759 and deaths reaching 600. The outbreak’s reproductive number is 1.4, meaning every 10 infections lead to roughly 14 more, while the case fatality […] Continue reading -> Digital Regulation for Youth Health: Joint Statement by WHO and France Demands Urgent Action 05/07/2026 Felix Sassmannshausen A lack of youth online safety is a global public health crisis that demands systemic platform regulation to protect children from harm, according to a joint declaration by the French government and the World Health Organization (WHO). They demand urgent digital governance to mandate safe platform redesigns, as nations struggle to enforce easily bypassed social […] Continue reading -> RFK Jr Changes Terms for US Vaccine Committee as Email Leak Reveals Sustained Political Interference in Vaccine Policy 30/06/2026 Kerry Cullinan US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr has broadened the terms of the country’s vaccine advisory committee in an apparent move to circumvent a judge’s ruling that his appointees lacked the requisite experience to serve as the country’s immunisation advisors. The new charter for the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) was published on the […] Continue reading -> WHO Urges Dramatic Expansion of Newborn Screening to Detect Birth Defects 23/06/2026 Felix Sassmannshausen Universal newborn screening needs to be dramatically expanded to improve infant mortality, says the World Health Organization (WHO). Without intervention, many of the estimated eight million infants born worldwide annually with congenital anomalies face severe impairment or death, warns a new technical report. The WHO report reflects a paradoxical landscape. As low- and middle-income countries […] Continue reading -> Nearly Every Child on Earth Now Faces a Climate Hazard 17/06/2026 Stefan Anderson A landmark UNICEF report that maps children’s exposure to overlapping climate hazards finds that almost half the world’s children – 1.1 billion kids – now contend with at least three threats at once. To reach school each morning, 15-year-old Lorna first has to swim across the Kemp Welch River, known to locals for its strong […] Continue reading -> Leading Malaria Scientist Warns Tools Alone Will Not End the Disease 14/06/2026 Health Policy Watch “Those are people who are being killed socially.” That is how Dr. Marcus Lacerda, Director of the WHO-hosted Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR), describes children whose futures are shaped by repeated bouts of vivax malaria. Lacerda, who joined TDR in March 2026, has spent more than 25 years studying […] Continue reading -> Doctor Who Led Underground Hospital in Syria: ‘There Must Be Real Consequences for Those Who Target Healthcare’ 14/06/2026 Health Policy Watch “It wasn’t unusual for shells and missiles to smash through the upper floors, leaving sizeable holes. Every time we were hit, we’d wonder if we should close the hospital.” That is how Dr. Amani Ballour, a Syrian paediatrician and the first female director of a hospital in a Syrian war zone, recalls working in an […] Continue reading -> Posts navigation Older posts
As Artificial Intelligence Drives Health Innovations, UN Agencies Launch Joint Strategic Guidelines 14/07/2026 Felix Sassmannshausen As artificial intelligence drives rapid health innovations, global guardrails, equitable data, and local capacity are needed to ensure equitable progress. To address this, a landmark framework launched by three United Nations agencies lays out a strategic roadmap for innovators. Meanwhile, health leaders emphasise that lower-income regions must become co-creators of future innovations. New guidelines for […] Continue reading -> A Regional Approach to HPV Vaccine Design Can Advance Equity and Cervical Cancer Elimination 13/07/2026 Marco Cavaleri HPV vaccines have transformed cervical cancer prevention, but the next generation of vaccines must better reflect regional disease patterns, including the HPV35 genotype prevalent in Africa. The recent WHO Global Status Report on Cancer paints a sobering picture. Among the many challenges, human papillomavirus, or HPV, is one of the world’s most serious infectious causes of […] Continue reading -> Ebola Cases Climb 25% as UN Warns Outbreak May Push One Million Into Poverty 10/07/2026 Stefan Anderson The Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Ebola outbreak is the fastest-growing on record, Africa CDC told its weekly briefing on Wednesday, with confirmed cases up 25% over the past week to 1,759 and deaths reaching 600. The outbreak’s reproductive number is 1.4, meaning every 10 infections lead to roughly 14 more, while the case fatality […] Continue reading -> Digital Regulation for Youth Health: Joint Statement by WHO and France Demands Urgent Action 05/07/2026 Felix Sassmannshausen A lack of youth online safety is a global public health crisis that demands systemic platform regulation to protect children from harm, according to a joint declaration by the French government and the World Health Organization (WHO). They demand urgent digital governance to mandate safe platform redesigns, as nations struggle to enforce easily bypassed social […] Continue reading -> RFK Jr Changes Terms for US Vaccine Committee as Email Leak Reveals Sustained Political Interference in Vaccine Policy 30/06/2026 Kerry Cullinan US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr has broadened the terms of the country’s vaccine advisory committee in an apparent move to circumvent a judge’s ruling that his appointees lacked the requisite experience to serve as the country’s immunisation advisors. The new charter for the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) was published on the […] Continue reading -> WHO Urges Dramatic Expansion of Newborn Screening to Detect Birth Defects 23/06/2026 Felix Sassmannshausen Universal newborn screening needs to be dramatically expanded to improve infant mortality, says the World Health Organization (WHO). Without intervention, many of the estimated eight million infants born worldwide annually with congenital anomalies face severe impairment or death, warns a new technical report. The WHO report reflects a paradoxical landscape. As low- and middle-income countries […] Continue reading -> Nearly Every Child on Earth Now Faces a Climate Hazard 17/06/2026 Stefan Anderson A landmark UNICEF report that maps children’s exposure to overlapping climate hazards finds that almost half the world’s children – 1.1 billion kids – now contend with at least three threats at once. To reach school each morning, 15-year-old Lorna first has to swim across the Kemp Welch River, known to locals for its strong […] Continue reading -> Leading Malaria Scientist Warns Tools Alone Will Not End the Disease 14/06/2026 Health Policy Watch “Those are people who are being killed socially.” That is how Dr. Marcus Lacerda, Director of the WHO-hosted Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR), describes children whose futures are shaped by repeated bouts of vivax malaria. Lacerda, who joined TDR in March 2026, has spent more than 25 years studying […] Continue reading -> Doctor Who Led Underground Hospital in Syria: ‘There Must Be Real Consequences for Those Who Target Healthcare’ 14/06/2026 Health Policy Watch “It wasn’t unusual for shells and missiles to smash through the upper floors, leaving sizeable holes. Every time we were hit, we’d wonder if we should close the hospital.” That is how Dr. Amani Ballour, a Syrian paediatrician and the first female director of a hospital in a Syrian war zone, recalls working in an […] Continue reading -> Posts navigation Older posts
A Regional Approach to HPV Vaccine Design Can Advance Equity and Cervical Cancer Elimination 13/07/2026 Marco Cavaleri HPV vaccines have transformed cervical cancer prevention, but the next generation of vaccines must better reflect regional disease patterns, including the HPV35 genotype prevalent in Africa. The recent WHO Global Status Report on Cancer paints a sobering picture. Among the many challenges, human papillomavirus, or HPV, is one of the world’s most serious infectious causes of […] Continue reading -> Ebola Cases Climb 25% as UN Warns Outbreak May Push One Million Into Poverty 10/07/2026 Stefan Anderson The Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Ebola outbreak is the fastest-growing on record, Africa CDC told its weekly briefing on Wednesday, with confirmed cases up 25% over the past week to 1,759 and deaths reaching 600. The outbreak’s reproductive number is 1.4, meaning every 10 infections lead to roughly 14 more, while the case fatality […] Continue reading -> Digital Regulation for Youth Health: Joint Statement by WHO and France Demands Urgent Action 05/07/2026 Felix Sassmannshausen A lack of youth online safety is a global public health crisis that demands systemic platform regulation to protect children from harm, according to a joint declaration by the French government and the World Health Organization (WHO). They demand urgent digital governance to mandate safe platform redesigns, as nations struggle to enforce easily bypassed social […] Continue reading -> RFK Jr Changes Terms for US Vaccine Committee as Email Leak Reveals Sustained Political Interference in Vaccine Policy 30/06/2026 Kerry Cullinan US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr has broadened the terms of the country’s vaccine advisory committee in an apparent move to circumvent a judge’s ruling that his appointees lacked the requisite experience to serve as the country’s immunisation advisors. The new charter for the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) was published on the […] Continue reading -> WHO Urges Dramatic Expansion of Newborn Screening to Detect Birth Defects 23/06/2026 Felix Sassmannshausen Universal newborn screening needs to be dramatically expanded to improve infant mortality, says the World Health Organization (WHO). Without intervention, many of the estimated eight million infants born worldwide annually with congenital anomalies face severe impairment or death, warns a new technical report. The WHO report reflects a paradoxical landscape. As low- and middle-income countries […] Continue reading -> Nearly Every Child on Earth Now Faces a Climate Hazard 17/06/2026 Stefan Anderson A landmark UNICEF report that maps children’s exposure to overlapping climate hazards finds that almost half the world’s children – 1.1 billion kids – now contend with at least three threats at once. To reach school each morning, 15-year-old Lorna first has to swim across the Kemp Welch River, known to locals for its strong […] Continue reading -> Leading Malaria Scientist Warns Tools Alone Will Not End the Disease 14/06/2026 Health Policy Watch “Those are people who are being killed socially.” That is how Dr. Marcus Lacerda, Director of the WHO-hosted Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR), describes children whose futures are shaped by repeated bouts of vivax malaria. Lacerda, who joined TDR in March 2026, has spent more than 25 years studying […] Continue reading -> Doctor Who Led Underground Hospital in Syria: ‘There Must Be Real Consequences for Those Who Target Healthcare’ 14/06/2026 Health Policy Watch “It wasn’t unusual for shells and missiles to smash through the upper floors, leaving sizeable holes. Every time we were hit, we’d wonder if we should close the hospital.” That is how Dr. Amani Ballour, a Syrian paediatrician and the first female director of a hospital in a Syrian war zone, recalls working in an […] Continue reading -> Posts navigation Older posts
Ebola Cases Climb 25% as UN Warns Outbreak May Push One Million Into Poverty 10/07/2026 Stefan Anderson The Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Ebola outbreak is the fastest-growing on record, Africa CDC told its weekly briefing on Wednesday, with confirmed cases up 25% over the past week to 1,759 and deaths reaching 600. The outbreak’s reproductive number is 1.4, meaning every 10 infections lead to roughly 14 more, while the case fatality […] Continue reading -> Digital Regulation for Youth Health: Joint Statement by WHO and France Demands Urgent Action 05/07/2026 Felix Sassmannshausen A lack of youth online safety is a global public health crisis that demands systemic platform regulation to protect children from harm, according to a joint declaration by the French government and the World Health Organization (WHO). They demand urgent digital governance to mandate safe platform redesigns, as nations struggle to enforce easily bypassed social […] Continue reading -> RFK Jr Changes Terms for US Vaccine Committee as Email Leak Reveals Sustained Political Interference in Vaccine Policy 30/06/2026 Kerry Cullinan US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr has broadened the terms of the country’s vaccine advisory committee in an apparent move to circumvent a judge’s ruling that his appointees lacked the requisite experience to serve as the country’s immunisation advisors. The new charter for the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) was published on the […] Continue reading -> WHO Urges Dramatic Expansion of Newborn Screening to Detect Birth Defects 23/06/2026 Felix Sassmannshausen Universal newborn screening needs to be dramatically expanded to improve infant mortality, says the World Health Organization (WHO). Without intervention, many of the estimated eight million infants born worldwide annually with congenital anomalies face severe impairment or death, warns a new technical report. The WHO report reflects a paradoxical landscape. As low- and middle-income countries […] Continue reading -> Nearly Every Child on Earth Now Faces a Climate Hazard 17/06/2026 Stefan Anderson A landmark UNICEF report that maps children’s exposure to overlapping climate hazards finds that almost half the world’s children – 1.1 billion kids – now contend with at least three threats at once. To reach school each morning, 15-year-old Lorna first has to swim across the Kemp Welch River, known to locals for its strong […] Continue reading -> Leading Malaria Scientist Warns Tools Alone Will Not End the Disease 14/06/2026 Health Policy Watch “Those are people who are being killed socially.” That is how Dr. Marcus Lacerda, Director of the WHO-hosted Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR), describes children whose futures are shaped by repeated bouts of vivax malaria. Lacerda, who joined TDR in March 2026, has spent more than 25 years studying […] Continue reading -> Doctor Who Led Underground Hospital in Syria: ‘There Must Be Real Consequences for Those Who Target Healthcare’ 14/06/2026 Health Policy Watch “It wasn’t unusual for shells and missiles to smash through the upper floors, leaving sizeable holes. Every time we were hit, we’d wonder if we should close the hospital.” That is how Dr. Amani Ballour, a Syrian paediatrician and the first female director of a hospital in a Syrian war zone, recalls working in an […] Continue reading -> Posts navigation Older posts
Digital Regulation for Youth Health: Joint Statement by WHO and France Demands Urgent Action 05/07/2026 Felix Sassmannshausen A lack of youth online safety is a global public health crisis that demands systemic platform regulation to protect children from harm, according to a joint declaration by the French government and the World Health Organization (WHO). They demand urgent digital governance to mandate safe platform redesigns, as nations struggle to enforce easily bypassed social […] Continue reading -> RFK Jr Changes Terms for US Vaccine Committee as Email Leak Reveals Sustained Political Interference in Vaccine Policy 30/06/2026 Kerry Cullinan US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr has broadened the terms of the country’s vaccine advisory committee in an apparent move to circumvent a judge’s ruling that his appointees lacked the requisite experience to serve as the country’s immunisation advisors. The new charter for the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) was published on the […] Continue reading -> WHO Urges Dramatic Expansion of Newborn Screening to Detect Birth Defects 23/06/2026 Felix Sassmannshausen Universal newborn screening needs to be dramatically expanded to improve infant mortality, says the World Health Organization (WHO). Without intervention, many of the estimated eight million infants born worldwide annually with congenital anomalies face severe impairment or death, warns a new technical report. The WHO report reflects a paradoxical landscape. As low- and middle-income countries […] Continue reading -> Nearly Every Child on Earth Now Faces a Climate Hazard 17/06/2026 Stefan Anderson A landmark UNICEF report that maps children’s exposure to overlapping climate hazards finds that almost half the world’s children – 1.1 billion kids – now contend with at least three threats at once. To reach school each morning, 15-year-old Lorna first has to swim across the Kemp Welch River, known to locals for its strong […] Continue reading -> Leading Malaria Scientist Warns Tools Alone Will Not End the Disease 14/06/2026 Health Policy Watch “Those are people who are being killed socially.” That is how Dr. Marcus Lacerda, Director of the WHO-hosted Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR), describes children whose futures are shaped by repeated bouts of vivax malaria. Lacerda, who joined TDR in March 2026, has spent more than 25 years studying […] Continue reading -> Doctor Who Led Underground Hospital in Syria: ‘There Must Be Real Consequences for Those Who Target Healthcare’ 14/06/2026 Health Policy Watch “It wasn’t unusual for shells and missiles to smash through the upper floors, leaving sizeable holes. Every time we were hit, we’d wonder if we should close the hospital.” That is how Dr. Amani Ballour, a Syrian paediatrician and the first female director of a hospital in a Syrian war zone, recalls working in an […] Continue reading -> Posts navigation Older posts
RFK Jr Changes Terms for US Vaccine Committee as Email Leak Reveals Sustained Political Interference in Vaccine Policy 30/06/2026 Kerry Cullinan US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr has broadened the terms of the country’s vaccine advisory committee in an apparent move to circumvent a judge’s ruling that his appointees lacked the requisite experience to serve as the country’s immunisation advisors. The new charter for the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) was published on the […] Continue reading -> WHO Urges Dramatic Expansion of Newborn Screening to Detect Birth Defects 23/06/2026 Felix Sassmannshausen Universal newborn screening needs to be dramatically expanded to improve infant mortality, says the World Health Organization (WHO). Without intervention, many of the estimated eight million infants born worldwide annually with congenital anomalies face severe impairment or death, warns a new technical report. The WHO report reflects a paradoxical landscape. As low- and middle-income countries […] Continue reading -> Nearly Every Child on Earth Now Faces a Climate Hazard 17/06/2026 Stefan Anderson A landmark UNICEF report that maps children’s exposure to overlapping climate hazards finds that almost half the world’s children – 1.1 billion kids – now contend with at least three threats at once. To reach school each morning, 15-year-old Lorna first has to swim across the Kemp Welch River, known to locals for its strong […] Continue reading -> Leading Malaria Scientist Warns Tools Alone Will Not End the Disease 14/06/2026 Health Policy Watch “Those are people who are being killed socially.” That is how Dr. Marcus Lacerda, Director of the WHO-hosted Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR), describes children whose futures are shaped by repeated bouts of vivax malaria. Lacerda, who joined TDR in March 2026, has spent more than 25 years studying […] Continue reading -> Doctor Who Led Underground Hospital in Syria: ‘There Must Be Real Consequences for Those Who Target Healthcare’ 14/06/2026 Health Policy Watch “It wasn’t unusual for shells and missiles to smash through the upper floors, leaving sizeable holes. Every time we were hit, we’d wonder if we should close the hospital.” That is how Dr. Amani Ballour, a Syrian paediatrician and the first female director of a hospital in a Syrian war zone, recalls working in an […] Continue reading -> Posts navigation Older posts
WHO Urges Dramatic Expansion of Newborn Screening to Detect Birth Defects 23/06/2026 Felix Sassmannshausen Universal newborn screening needs to be dramatically expanded to improve infant mortality, says the World Health Organization (WHO). Without intervention, many of the estimated eight million infants born worldwide annually with congenital anomalies face severe impairment or death, warns a new technical report. The WHO report reflects a paradoxical landscape. As low- and middle-income countries […] Continue reading -> Nearly Every Child on Earth Now Faces a Climate Hazard 17/06/2026 Stefan Anderson A landmark UNICEF report that maps children’s exposure to overlapping climate hazards finds that almost half the world’s children – 1.1 billion kids – now contend with at least three threats at once. To reach school each morning, 15-year-old Lorna first has to swim across the Kemp Welch River, known to locals for its strong […] Continue reading -> Leading Malaria Scientist Warns Tools Alone Will Not End the Disease 14/06/2026 Health Policy Watch “Those are people who are being killed socially.” That is how Dr. Marcus Lacerda, Director of the WHO-hosted Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR), describes children whose futures are shaped by repeated bouts of vivax malaria. Lacerda, who joined TDR in March 2026, has spent more than 25 years studying […] Continue reading -> Doctor Who Led Underground Hospital in Syria: ‘There Must Be Real Consequences for Those Who Target Healthcare’ 14/06/2026 Health Policy Watch “It wasn’t unusual for shells and missiles to smash through the upper floors, leaving sizeable holes. Every time we were hit, we’d wonder if we should close the hospital.” That is how Dr. Amani Ballour, a Syrian paediatrician and the first female director of a hospital in a Syrian war zone, recalls working in an […] Continue reading -> Posts navigation Older posts
Nearly Every Child on Earth Now Faces a Climate Hazard 17/06/2026 Stefan Anderson A landmark UNICEF report that maps children’s exposure to overlapping climate hazards finds that almost half the world’s children – 1.1 billion kids – now contend with at least three threats at once. To reach school each morning, 15-year-old Lorna first has to swim across the Kemp Welch River, known to locals for its strong […] Continue reading -> Leading Malaria Scientist Warns Tools Alone Will Not End the Disease 14/06/2026 Health Policy Watch “Those are people who are being killed socially.” That is how Dr. Marcus Lacerda, Director of the WHO-hosted Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR), describes children whose futures are shaped by repeated bouts of vivax malaria. Lacerda, who joined TDR in March 2026, has spent more than 25 years studying […] Continue reading -> Doctor Who Led Underground Hospital in Syria: ‘There Must Be Real Consequences for Those Who Target Healthcare’ 14/06/2026 Health Policy Watch “It wasn’t unusual for shells and missiles to smash through the upper floors, leaving sizeable holes. Every time we were hit, we’d wonder if we should close the hospital.” That is how Dr. Amani Ballour, a Syrian paediatrician and the first female director of a hospital in a Syrian war zone, recalls working in an […] Continue reading -> Posts navigation Older posts
Leading Malaria Scientist Warns Tools Alone Will Not End the Disease 14/06/2026 Health Policy Watch “Those are people who are being killed socially.” That is how Dr. Marcus Lacerda, Director of the WHO-hosted Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR), describes children whose futures are shaped by repeated bouts of vivax malaria. Lacerda, who joined TDR in March 2026, has spent more than 25 years studying […] Continue reading -> Doctor Who Led Underground Hospital in Syria: ‘There Must Be Real Consequences for Those Who Target Healthcare’ 14/06/2026 Health Policy Watch “It wasn’t unusual for shells and missiles to smash through the upper floors, leaving sizeable holes. Every time we were hit, we’d wonder if we should close the hospital.” That is how Dr. Amani Ballour, a Syrian paediatrician and the first female director of a hospital in a Syrian war zone, recalls working in an […] Continue reading -> Posts navigation Older posts
Doctor Who Led Underground Hospital in Syria: ‘There Must Be Real Consequences for Those Who Target Healthcare’ 14/06/2026 Health Policy Watch “It wasn’t unusual for shells and missiles to smash through the upper floors, leaving sizeable holes. Every time we were hit, we’d wonder if we should close the hospital.” That is how Dr. Amani Ballour, a Syrian paediatrician and the first female director of a hospital in a Syrian war zone, recalls working in an […] Continue reading -> Posts navigation Older posts